Earthbound
by Felicie Senta
Summary: The Doctor, the eccentric nomad, has been left alone, once again. When his TARDIS crash lands in Boston, Massachusetts in 2011, he meets Theresa Legaterra, a sad girl, ready to take that last step over the edge. Together, they fix their broken hearts.
1. I've Had My Moments, You Know

The alarm clock screamed, ripping through the pink dawn. A brown-haired girl rolled over and faced the clock.

_5:45._

_An__ early __way __to__ start__ my__ last__ day,_ she thought, staring up at the whitewashed, cracked ceiling.

"Turn that damn thing off before I send George to do it for you." A voice hollered up the stairs, downing out the steady buzzes of the girl's alarm.

The girl sat up quickly, reaching over and pulling out the plug. She wouldn't have need of time after today. Standing up, she stretched her arms, her honey brown hair falling straight, a little past her shoulders. The mirror in front of her reflected a comely face with sad, green eyes. She had worn this face for two weeks; the sad lines drawn across her face, anger coloring her cheeks, but it would disappear soon. Pulling on a black tank top and beat up combat boots, the girl gave a final, cursory glance around the room. She reached into her jewelry box and took out a locket. It was circular shaped and apparently the only thing her parents had left her when they died sixteen years previous. She had never opened it; the thought hadn't occurred to her, like every time her fingers found the clasps, her mind slipped to focus on something else.

The girl hooked it around her neck; it felt warm against her skin and she remembered when she was a child, she imagined a heartbeat like the ticking of a clock inside, and pretended it was her parents' souls, watching over her.

"Good load of nothing it did." She muttered, jumping down the steps two at a time.

"You, get in here." A drawling voice slithered from the kitchen. The girl froze, a deer in headlights.

_I can make a run through the front door, if -_ she thought, and then realized she had left her bag in the kitchen. With halting steps, she stepped into the kitchen and glared at an older man. He as not unattractive, but his eyes were dead and hungry.

"Hello, George," the girl swallowed, "where is Lydea?"

"Outside," George smiled, reached out and snagging the girl into his arms, "It's just you and me, Reese."

"Get off me or I'll scream." Reese struggled against him. George laughed, freeing one hand to grab her lips in between his fingers.

"Last time, you screamed all night and Lydea never raised a finger to save you. What makes you think this time will be different?" George breathed in Reese's face. He shoved her against the table, her spine awkwardly crushed into the edge. His fingers pulled at her hair and his other undid her jeans button and slid inside. Reese kicked her legs out, but George dodged them, his eyes narrowing.

The doorbell rang and George released Reese, pushing her to the ground. "Don't move," he growled as he left to answer the caller.  
>For a moment, Reese shivered on the floor, her pant's waistline around her knees, when her senses caught up with her thumping heart. With shaking hands, she buttoned her pants and gabbed her bag, fleeing into the backyard. Reese hopped a short fence and began running as far away as she could.<p>

Reese sat on a park bench, underneath falling leaves, and watched people walk by. They were all different - some smiling, some skeptical, some laughing, some crying - and Reese was sure that every human being was bathed in secrets. Only a trained eye could see each one hiding secrets in the crooks of their elbow, behind their ears, tangled in their hair.

Only two weeks ago, Reese had been happy.

_Well,__not__happy_, Reese reminded herself, _Alive,__content_.

She had been raised, the word loosely used, by Lydea, living with her since the age of two when her parents died. Lydea and a long parade of different men; George wasn't the first to grab at her, but he was the only to go farther. Lydea had always plugged her ears against Reese's screams and pleas.

Two weeks ago, Reese let go, released the last semblance of hope, and decided she would leave. She wanted to be nothing, except a speck of dust with the ability to go anywhere and never feel the heaviness of pain.

Reese sighed, pulling out a small, leather bound notebook, scribbling words. Her mind drifted and slipped into sleep, dreaming of a scraping sound and the black sky glowing white.

* * *

><p>Cold air curled around Reese's bare arms, whispering to goosebumps flaring along her flesh. She leaned against a wooden railing, staring into the sparkling, raging ocean below her. It swelled up, begging for her feet, reaching for her legs.<p>

"Soon," she cooed to the water, as if it would be soothed by her gentle tone. Reese bent down and wedged her little journal underneath a heavy stone. She pulled herself up on the balustrade, placing one combat boot against the top and then the other. The wind needled into her skin, and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Her lips tugged upward, a tragic smile, the skin around her eyes tightened, her hollow cheeks pulled in to her teeth. There was something exhilarating in the moment before she gathered the courage to jump. A certain invincibility, like the second, her feet pushed off, wings would spring from her back and carry her along the ocean breeze.

"I stepped precariously on the edge, screaming out silently, to a million people, who held no ears." Reese whispered, remembering a poem she read once in school, her knees bent, preparing for to leap.

A ripping sound, like a motorcycle engine and an airplane liftoff, shook the ground. Concentration slipping, Reese crouched, holding onto the railing to steady herself. Squinting through the dense trees lining the bay, a white light glinted in proximity. As the light faded, in the dimness, Reese made out a dark box-shaped object and a figure stumbling from it. The silhouette advanced to the bridge; as it got closer, she could hear mumbling and exclamations. As it moved into the light of the lone streetlight, it was revealed to be a he, a lanky, tousled hair man, wearing a tweed suit, long coat and oddly, converse sneakers. He was handsome, in a strange, eccentric sort of way. Spotting Reese on the edge, he strode towards her.

"Hello! Can you tell me what day it is?" he asked, giving her an open mouth grin. Reese's shock had subsided and the deathly confidence streamed through her body again.

"September 28." she answered, standing up to stare into the eyes of the ocean.

"The year?" he said, putting on square framed glasses, and tapping a silver utensil against his palm.

"2011?" Reese rolled her eyes, deciding the man was obviously an escapee from some mental institution.

Looking up, the man's brown eyes grew wide, for the first time, noticing Reese's position on the railing, "What are you up there for?"

Sucking in a great lungful of air, Reese shrugged her shoulders, settling for the truth, since she wasn't long in the world. And she didn't want to be known as a liar. "I was trying to kill myself before you interrupted."

"Why would you do that now?" the man put his elbows on the fencing, his chin in his hands, "You'd be amazed at all the good things in this world."

"Not when you're me. Not when every time you're doing all right, someone needs to kick you down. Not when no one will ever love you, because of what's been done for you." Reese squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears, "Whatever world your head is in, you are one lucky bastard to not be in mine."

"I've been to several worlds, and pretty girls like you can have beautiful lives. Even the ones as sad as you. I'm not sure what happened to you, but this won't fix it. The ocean doesn't care about you; it'll swallow you whole without a single care, but I'll care. I'll be watching and I have two hearts, more than enough to try to save you."

A sob broke past Reese's lips. She looked down and the man's eyes connected with her. They were as sad as her's; the same lost, wandering gaze. For the first time, if only for a minute, she felt at home in those eyes.

"Tell me what happened, I can try to fix it." The man placed a hand on Reese's boot, "After all, I am the Doctor."

Reese held up a hand, trying to hold back the heart-wrenching sobs that threatened to rack her body. The Doctor was silent, watching the stars and listening to her soft cries. Finally, she slid down to sit on the balustrade, legs dangling away from the sea. She glanced at the Doctor, wondering why her heart yearned to trust him. She wanted to trust someone; something substantial and new. Even if he turned out to be a serial killer, she'd much rather die, feeling close to something real.

"My caretaker's boyfriend has been," She paused, collecting her breath, "hurting me for the past few weeks. I can't do it anymore. Be in a place I don't belong. You probably don't understand, with all your confidence, but I feel as if I'm not supposed to be here, in Boston, on this planet, even in this universe. I'm meant to be a million years, a million miles away. It's all I was trying to do. I want to disappear, if I can't feel complete." Reese pressed her hand against the right half of her chest, "I'll never be whole. Especially not purely whole again with George's fingerprints staining me." A shuddering breath. "Have you ever been that hurt? Feeling your heart shred, your essence crumble. . ."

_Trust her,_ a voice whispered to the Doctor. His forehead crinkled; the voice sounded almost identical to the girl in front of him, but it was stronger, powerful. "Yes, I have been hurt. But you don't see me jumping off of every bridge. Well, except that one bridge in New New New New New New New New York - You get the point - City. . . Anyway, sorry, everything that's happened to you, you have to let it heal. And time will make that happen. I have no home either, I'm a traveler, and I've had much time to let my hurts heal. I want to give you that chance." the Doctor stared into the lonely green eyes, reflections of his brown ones, "What is your name?"

"My name is Reese Legaterra."

"Like the candy? Ooh, I remember when they invented them, quite the thriller, they were. I'm sure you have had one before."

"Of course," she smiled, a flash of straight teeth," My real name is Theresa."

"Which would you rather I call you?"

"Reese."

"Well, all right, Reese, I was going to ask you if you, my sad-eyed jumper, will travel not just this world, not just this universe, but all of time and space with me?" the Doctor's eyes crinkled around the corners as he grinned at her, "I don't think this was coincident; I was meant to find you and show you that the world isn't as bad as it seems. I can help heal you, give you all the time in the world."

He stood back and held out a hand for her. She stared at it, watching it glow gold in front of her eyes. Fate. Time. Healing. She hesitated for a moment, recalling her earlier speculations, "You're not a murderer, right?"

"Not of you."  
>Reese half-smiled and grabbed his hand, and he pulled her after him towards the woods.<p> 


	2. That Homeless Shadow Tagging Along

Reese couldn't deny that she liked the feeling of the Doctor's hand clasped around hers. It was warm and it infected her like an injection of hot water. The pair raced through the woods until they reached a blue box, large enough to fit two people comfortably. Across the top were the block letters of "Police Box."

Reese looked at the Doctor, scrunching up one eye, "I thought you said you didn't have a home."

"I don't, the TARDIS is my friend." The Doctor grinned, patting the box affectionately.

"How can it be a friend? . . . I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it's a box."

"It's not just a box!" exclaimed the Doctor, "It's alive and has one of the very best hearts I've ever seen. Saved me quite a few times, you know." He opened the door and strode in, tossing his light brown coat over a railing. Reese stepped inside and froze, letting out a long sigh.

"Wow," she smiled, "Wow." She moved to the center of the TARDIS, reaching out to touch all the controls, the green cylinder in the very middle. "God, it's beautiful, Doctor." He watched her; already, she looked brighter, happier; her cheeks glowed pink and her eyes fiercely green.

"I know." The Doctor said, starting to twist knobs and push levers, "Where to? All at our fingertips, is anywhere at any time."

"You're lying!" Reese gasped, "Show me this instant! Take me to ancient Greece!"

The Doctor barked out a merry laugh and pressed a few buttons, "Away we go!" The whirring sound Reese had heard earlier started up again and she grabbed a railing for support. Soon, the noise died down and she ran for the door and pushed it open. Outside, the ancient Greece civilization was just waking up, a few weary shopkeepers setting up their stands.

"Oh. My. God." Reese stepped back inside the TARDIS, slammed the doors, and leaned against it, her chest moving up and down rapidly. "You weren't lying. Oh my God."

"Of course I wasn't lying. I'll try my hardest not to do that, but no promises." The Doctor grabbed his jacket and walked towards her, "Let's explore, come along!"

Reese placed her hand against his chest, "No, first, take me home and I'll get all my belongings, and then I'll be ready."

The Doctor pouted for a moment, "Alright, if we must." He spun a dial and pressed three more buttons and the whirring began again.

"Make sure you're very quiet. I don't want George to hear us, if he's home." whispered Reese, sliding into the foyer.

"I wouldn't mind talking to this George fellow." Snarled the Doctor, closing the door behind him with a snap.

"Stay here," Reese muttered, running up the stairs on her tiptoes, and reached her room. Only hours ago, she stood here, thinking she was saying goodbye from everything. Now, she was only saying goodbye to the  
>bad things in her life. Taking a deep breath, Reese threw clothes and other possessions into a backpack. She slipped it on her back and ran down the stairs, not caring if her thundering steps woke the dead. She was escaping. She was going to be free- "Doctor? Doctor? Where are you?"<p>

The Doctor peeked his head into the hallway, "Reese, what does your caretaker look like?"

"She's blonde, very superstar like," Reese stomped towards him, "I told you not to move, come on, let's go!"

"I don't take commands very well, and is that her?" The Doctor pointed at two figures in the backyard. One was definitely Lydea, but she looked different, almost poised to fight, her hands hooked. The other was tall, foreboding… George.

"By any chance, has she always had claws and wings?" the Doctor gazed out into the backyard.

"What! What! Wings?" Reese squinted to make out two bat like wings sticking out of Lydea's back.

"Didn't think so," The Doctor grabbed Reese's hand and dragged her outside into the yard, "Let's have a chat with her."

"Hello, you there!" He crowed, baring his teeth in a smile, "I just wanted to ask about those wings. They're beauties, they are."

"Who the hell are you?" Lydea hissed, fangs creeping over her lips, her eyes never leaving George. "Get away now. I have business to attend to."

"Lydea, what is going on?" Reese stepped forward, standing a few inches from Lydea. The woman with the wings turned slowly, the cheeks reddening, fangs retracting into her mouth.

"Reese, darling, what are you doing out here? Go back inside and wait for me. I think I want to move on from this town." Lydea purred, grabbing hold on Reese's forearm.

"No, what is going on? The wings, the fangs, who are you?" Reese jerked away, huddling next to the Doctor, "I'm never going anywhere with you again. With your men. With all this pain."

"Don't talk back, child. Get in the house. Your handsome friend can stay out here though."

"Stop! I'm not a little girl anymore, I'm eighteen. You've been handing me over to your men since I was fourteen. Why; who are you, Lydea?"

She gave an annoyed sigh, "God, I am growing so tired of you. I guess now would be a good of time as ever to kill you. I was waiting till you were the height of your youth, but since you feel like being so clever and rebellious all of a sudden, now shall have to do."

The Doctor gave an amused laugh, "Ah! A Setamern."

Lydea spun around, her claws appearing again, the fangs inching out, "How could you possibly know, human?"

"Look again, am I all that human, Lydea?" The Doctor maintained his smile, "And your prey is getting away."

George had been inching away, along a chain-linked fence. Lydea launched herself on him and tore at his throat and ribs. Within minutes, the man who had terrorized Reese was a shredded pile of flesh.

"Hm, can't say I'm sorry to see him go," the Doctor stared at the heap, "Now, to you, Lydea, we can't have you roaming around, sucking the youth out of men and killing them. Reese, has any of the men Lydea's been with come back after a few weeks?"

Reese thought back for a moment, "No. No, they never have. Did she do that to all them?"

"I assume so. I mean, she probably sucked the youth and happiness out of them. I bet she hasn't aged in say a hundred years maybe?"

"Ninety-eight years, thank you very much." Lydea pouted, "Do I look that old?"

"You have gathered some wrinkles," the Doctor chuckled, "but, really, Lydea, let's go, you have to leave this planet alone. Earth is good, deserves to thrive and it doesn't need you."

"I'm not going anywhere. So many men here."

"If you don't go now, I'll force you to leave. The alternatives aren't pretty."

Lydea snarled, her body convulsing, sprouting spikes, scales, and a long, whiplike tail. "You can't make me leave." She feinted towards the Doctor, but at the last second, shifted towards Reese, ripping sharp claws across her arms.

"Reese!" the Doctor grabbed her as she collapsed, gripping her bleeding arms.

"Go after her, you dumb ass."

"You'll be okay?" "Yes, yes, hurry!"

The Doctor took off running after the retreating bat like figure, as it ripped through fences and hedges. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scooped up part of a lawn mower Lydea had strewn across a backyard.

"Set the blades to non-stop turning, yup," he muttered, pressing his sonic screwdriver against open wires, "Come on, come on."

The blades began spinning, slowly at first, and then became blurred with speed. Sighting Lydea about to take flight, he flung the blades as hard as he could from halfway across the lawn. It caught one of her wings and shredded it into limp tendrils. Lydea's scream pierced the night.

Reese lay in her blood, holding the damaged arm against her stomach, covering it with her less injured arm. Pain seeped like poison in her veins and she blinked black spots out of her vision. It felt weird to be fighting to live; She had a reason now to breathe, to keep breathing. Her eyes slipped closed and her fingers curled around the locket around her throat, breathing, hoping. . .

Lydea flung herself, in anger and confusion, at the Doctor, who slid away from her. He grabbed the motor and set it spinning again. Lydea screeched in recognition to the sound of the scraping blades and retreated across the lawn, her red, thirsty eyes boring into the Doctor.

"Just go, Lydea, I don't aim to kill you." The Doctor held his arms up in good nature, "I only ask that you leave this planet and never return."

"Help me, sisters, help me, brothers!" Lydea also raised her arms up, but in signal, her palms flat, facing the night sky. A bright beam of swarthy white enfolded her and she was lifted into the air.

"You will meet me again, handsome man. And I will kill you and darling Reese."

"Oi, like I haven't heard that threat a thousand times before," the Doctor said, "Are you going to shake your fist at me too?"

Lydea hissed, "You annoy-" The beam disappeared and with it, Lydea.

"Reese," the Doctor whispered the name before he sprinted back towards the bleeding girl.

* * *

><p>"Wake up, Reese, wake up."<p>

Hands, strangely both soft and rough, shook her to consciousness. She blinked her green eyes in the gold light of the TARDIS until her pupils contracted. Sitting up, she felt her arms, clear of any wounds.

"What did you do?" Reese examined her skin; no scars or cuts marred them.

"Nothing, I found you like this, healed but covered in blood." The Doctor ran his fingers through his already tousled hair, staring at her with confusion, "It's strange."

Standing up unsteadily, gripping a railing, Reese looked around at the TARDIS, still amazed by the space and sheer power of every humming button, every buzzing lever. But something else caught her eyes; shadows, shifting transparencies, almost human figures, walking in TARDIS, around the Doctor. Watching him, listening to every word he said.

"Who are they?" Reese pointed to one; in the light, she could make out dark skin, a flash of black hair, "What are they?"

"What are what?" The Doctor looked to where she pointed, put on his semi-rimless glasses, "I don't see anything."

Reese bit her lip, "I'm not the first one to be in the TARDIS with you."

"No, you are not."

"Hmm." Reese ran her fingers along the Doctor's coat, deep in thought about the "ghosts" and those who use to be in the TARDIS and where they had gone. Her fingers caught on a chain, hanging out of a pocket.  
>She pulled it out; it was a delicate gold chain with a small, flat saint figurine with the name 'St. Rose' along the bottom front in small script. "What's this?"<p>

"St. Rose." The Doctor breathed the name, his face going empty, "Rose was a girl who travelled with me. A companion."

"Where is she now?"

"She is far away with all the things I could never give her. She's saved the world quite a few times." The Doctor turned away, eyes cloudy.

"May I wear the necklace? I want to be protected by her." Reese stepped over towards the Doctor, her face a few inches from him as she stood on tippy toe.

"I think she would have liked that." The Doctor said quietly, watching the green eyes light up. Reese stepped back and slipped the small pendent next to her locket on the original chain, handing the Doctor the gold one.

"I want to go to Paris." Reese decided, smiling at the Doctor from behind the motor.

"Paris, it is!" The Doctor reached out to touch the first button when Reese pressed it for him and then proceeded to pull a lever and press a few more buttons. "What are you doing?" he yelped, as the TARDIS began to move.

The TARDIS landed with a soft thump and the Doctor raced to the doors, flinging them open. Outside, Paris greeted him, a hot, summer day. Throwing the doors shut, he turned to Reese.

"How did you-what! what?" The Doctor stuttered, "What?"

* * *

><p>Hey guys! Thanks so much for the favorites, reviews (victoria &amp; animemonkey13), adding my story to alerts, and just reading my story in general (: I'll do these little author's note whenever I feel I have something important to share.<p>

First off, I don't own the Doctor or any of the characters from Doctor Who or  
>anything related to Doctor Who, blah, blah, blah, but Reese is my character, as<br>are Setamerns and other creatures/characters throughout the season.  
>Second, this story takes place after season four, right after he drops off<br>Donna. In this version of Doctor Who, the movie that splits season four and five  
>never happens.<br>Third, I know things seem very weird with Reese but everything will be explained  
>as it goes on.<br>Fourth, the chapters are set up like episodes and the whole story is set up like  
>a season. So every two chapters equals one episode, and there will be a total of<br>24 chapters (12 episodes) plus (I'm debating this) an extra chapter (half  
>episode.)<br>Fifth, I'm going to try to update a new chapter every week but I'm really busy  
>: so it might be every two weeks.  
>Keep reading!<br>Fel  
>P.S. I ended this with the Doctor saying "What! What! What?" because that's how all Ten's first episodes end.<p> 


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